Which used rifle choice

[EZM]

Originally Posted by sns2

My first Ruger was one of those boat paddle abominations in 7 Rem. On a good day it was an inch a half gun with reloads. Trigger was pure garbage too. Worst factory trigger I have ever had. It kicked a lot worse than a later M77 I had that was a 338 Win Mag in an HS Precision stock. That one shot better, but it was sent to Corlanes to be accurized for $350 (bedding, trigger job,
cutting the bolt face, lapping lugs, cutting internal threads and squaring of the receiver, and then resetting headspace). Gun shot really nicely after that trip to the spa. LOL. The Hawkeyes I had were nothing to be written home about. I bought one new because it had lovely wood for a Hawkeye, and I like wood. Rifle arrived, took it out of the box, and danged if it the barrel wasn't bowed. I kid you not. Sent pics to Prophet River, and in typical Clay Smiley fashion, a new barreled action was sent out that day which allowed me to keep the lovely stock. Swapped out the trigger spring for one from a Bic pen, and I was in business. Gun shot quite nice. Because I was in the throes of a rifle addiction at the time, it was sold or traded for the next thing that caught my eye. Finally, I had a 10/22 that jammed like no one's business regardless of the brand of ammo you pumped down its throat.

So, my point is, and many would agree, Ruger's often take a fair deal of fiddling to get right. I'm no gun rookie, and have no bias against them at all, but no other brand had caused the me the extra effort that Ruger has, and I am a loonie for buying new to the market rifle brands out of curiosity

That is similar to my experience with them - owned a few, and sold as many, it seemed my dad's trusty beat up old M77 in 300win mag was the one and only one that was able to shoot accurately and didn't cause grief in one form or the next.

Same reason why I will never own a Browning - had even worse luck with those - in particular, the early semi auto BAR's were absolute garbage and I couldn't get through a magazine without a problem. Also was a task to get it to group within 4" at 100 - what a piece of garbage - sold it for almost FREE

At the end of the day people gravitate to what fits them well, doesn't give them problems and puts meat in the freezer.

[EZM]

On 10/22's - they are individuals. One shoots and is trouble free, while the next is fussy about ammo and jams and mis-feeds every mag. I buy and keep the ones that are good, and sell the ones that aren't. Clearly this indicates a mass production product where machining, assembly, testing are not repeatable or reliable on a consistent basis. But when everything is ticking along, good ones roll off the assembly line I think. For the money, they are great.

They are, however, fun guns and I always have a few around.

[270person]

Originally Posted by leaffan

I am kind of old school guy who prefers wooden stocks and blued barrels in my bolt action hunting rifles. Assuming the following rifles are equipped identically in every way which would you chose and why? The following models were produced in the late 80s and 90 s. BROWNING ABOLT, REMINGTON BDL, WINCHESTER M70, SAVAGE 10, TIKKA M695, RUGER 77

Just as an addon and only my opinion: I'd add Weatherby to the mix and lose the Browning, Savage, and Ruger.

[hawk-i]

None of the guns listed are bad choices...

[morinj]

I looked at a Parker Hale one day and bang for the buck it looked and felt like a pretty great rifle, never had a chance to shoot it tho, but heard good things! Maybe another member could elaborate!

[32-40win]

Had a couple of M77 tang safety guns, neither were stellar shooters, the one cost me a moose one day as I didn't know about the mag not letting the bolt pickup over a fully loaded mag, had to reach around and push the nose of the cartridge down to get it to p/u the back end. Tested a lot of them after that, maybe 1/2doz out of 50-60 of them didn't do that. Maybe a mag spring issue, but closing the bolt over the full mag, would push the back end down and then the mag would not let it pop back up when you opened the bolt. So, since then, only Ruger I'll buy is a #1. Even though the RPR is a apparently a pretty good unit, in my last quest where I was willing to get another bolt gun, reviews pointed out a few things that turned me away again. Ended up with a Tikka T3X.
Browning BBR was a nice enough gun, no beefs with it, adequate accuracy for me at the time I had it, sold it because I wanted a Ruger 77, which were on sale just as the laws changed and Cdn Tires were getting out of guns for the most part., that was likely a poor idea given the results., it was on sale. And for some reason, I was wanting it.
Had no trouble with the two 700's I had, still have one, had it out yesterday with a new Triggertech in it, nice improvement, worth the splurge on it. Both capable of sub 3/4MOA and neither one ever let me down.
Had a Parker Hale 1200 many years ago, don't think I even had a scope on it, and a BAR, same deal. Unfair to judge them really, other than I could hit stuff with them. Don't even remember why I got rid of them.
Never owned a Win other than my 1885, shot Mod70's, never liked them enough to run out and buy one. 1885 is a good one, but, so were the Brownings, both built by Miroku.
Certainly could have bought Tikka in the 80's, didn't turn my crank at the time though, no particular reason for that. Same with Savage.

[360hunt]

Originally Posted by leaffan

I am kind of old school guy who prefers wooden stocks and blued barrels in my bolt action hunting rifles. Assuming the following rifles are equipped identically in every way which would you chose and why? The following models were produced in the late 80s and 90 s. BROWNING ABOLT, REMINGTON BDL, WINCHESTER M70, SAVAGE 10, TIKKA M695, RUGER 77

Tikka M695 hands down. I've owned all but the savage.

A bolt never been a fan

Remington bdl excellent rifle just not shot well for me.

Model 70 I enjoyed. Love the safety but 80's are push feed xtr. Still nice rifle.

Tikka M695. Own 3 of them 7mm mag, 270 Winchester and 6.5x55se.
All shot sub moa. All were a step above the rest.

[aardvaark]

Got a Tikka M695 in 25-06Rem. My fav gun to shoot, but the caliber is also user friendly so that makes a difference

[Sashi]

I just picked up an Interarms mark x 3006 at the auction, it looked in good shape on the screen. and was going to cheap, so I had to put in a bid. It looks like it was well cared for. Just mounted a scope on it , but haven't shot it yet , but I'm sure I'll be very satisfied.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by W921

My ruger m 77 was first year production 1971. Does this make a difference in quality? Had another early 77 in 30/06 but thats long gone and I dont know the year.
I have an early 10/22 with tons of rounds through it. When wholesale Sports was going out of business I went there to buy another for my daughter. Quality was so bad I wouldn't buy it no matter how cheap

Mine was a 2006, by the time I sold it I'd done a trigger job, free floated the barrel, and lapped the rings. There weren't too many factory loads that it would shoot 1.5 moa or better.

Eventually the weight became an issue so I got rid of it, but it was a fantastic rifle.

Of the rifles listed, my preference would be a m70 Featherweight... but these often tend to sell for way too much. My Husqvarna 1600's weigh less than a Featherweight, have all the quality of a pre 64 m70, and can be purchased in decent condition for a very reasonable price. They do suffer from a lack of aftermarket parts though.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by morinj

I looked at a Parker Hale one day and bang for the buck it looked and felt like a pretty great rifle, never had a chance to shoot it tho, but heard good things! Maybe another member could elaborate!

The only Parker Hale I ever owned did not leave me with a favorable impression of them. I had to take the trigger apart and do some very careful filing to get the safety to work properly. The Santa Barbera action was the roughest, most sloppy Mauser I've ever owned, and one had to drive a pin out of the action somewhere to remove it from the stock IIRC... that rifle never even made it to the range. I was too worried that it would either shoot so good I'd have to keep it, or so poorly I couldn't sell it in good conscience.

[rmatei]

Ruger m77 ultralight in 270 best gun I have. You can carry this thing up mountain sides all day. Only issue with a 20 inch barrel is she will heat up if you rapid fire a half dozen shots at the range and accuracy will start to suffer. Not an issue for hunting though.

[heybert]

I like the Remington 700 Classic. The run started in 1978 with the straight comb stock’ like the Ruger M77. They had a regular run from 1978 to 1985 with several common calibres. In 1981, Remington started putting out a different caliber (different from the regular run) every year until 2005. I would also look at Husqvarna.

[trooper]

I won't buy a used rifle anymore.. years ago, I purchased a marlin lever action off a fellow AO member. He told me that there was no issues with the rifle but he neglected to mention that the rounds would keyhole at 100 meters.. Trust no one when buying used equipment, period! burned once, never again.

[Dick284]

I’ve had excellent luck with used rifles.

[silver lab]

I’m not a wood/blued guy but, every time I see a Winchester Feather weight I think maybe one day....

[Sashi]

Originally Posted by Sashi

I just picked up an Interarms mark x 3006 at the auction, it looked in good shape on the screen. and was going to cheap, so I had to put in a bid. It looks like it was well cared for. Just mounted a scope on it , but haven't shot it yet , but I'm sure I'll be very satisfied.

Had it out on the range today to site it in. It shoots sub moa.

[Bergerboy]

Originally Posted by trooper

I won't buy a used rifle anymore.. years ago, I purchased a marlin lever action off a fellow AO member. He told me that there was no issues with the rifle but he neglected to mention that the rounds would keyhole at 100 meters.. Trust no one when buying used equipment, period! burned once, never again.

What was the cause of the bullets to not stabilize?

[sns2]

Here's a gorgeous one. Same as a Vanguard, but with Williams Sights and a detachable mag. Surprised it hasn't been snapped up.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=howa

[Bergerboy]

Originally Posted by sns2

Here's a gorgeous one. Same as a Vanguard, but with Williams Sights and a detachable mag. Surprised it hasn't been snapped up.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...highlight=howa

No kidding! If only I needed one more 3006....